California’s Farmers Voted For Trump Because They Wanted Change. They Told The NY Times They’re Worried Trump Might Deport Their Undocumented Work Force

Over the last few weeks, California’s farmers have grown increasingly concerned as they’ve watched President Trump sign off on executive orders calling for stricter immigration policies. As the New York Times points out, a University of California at Davis study shows that nearly 70 percent of the farming workforce in the U.S. is made up of undocumented workers. If these workers were deported tomorrow, California’s “$35 billion a year” industry could experience an economic hit that could have repercussions across the state, as well as the entire country, theNew York Times reports.

Now here’s the kicker: many of these farmers actually voted for Donald Trump. According to the New York Times, Central Valley and San Joaquin Valley farmers were drawn to Donald Trump’s campaign promises of reducing government regulations and taxes. But when it came to Trump’s promises to implement stricter immigration policies, these same farmers developed an unfortunate blindspot.

Adding to this growing tension among California farmers is that the state and President Trump aren’t on the same page at all when it comes to undocumented workers. While California is currently taking measures that would enable it to become a sanctuary state, President Trump has made it clear he would have no problem defunding the state if it legally protected its undocumented population.